Therapeutic pad and belt structure



March 2, 1954 A. E. WITTENBERG I 2,670,734

THERAPEUTIC PAD AND BELT STRUCTURE Filed Dec. 11, 1952 Patented Mar. 2,1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THERAPEUTIC PAD AND BELT STRUCTUREAladar Elias Wittenberg, New York, N. Y.

Application December 11, 1952, Serial N0. 325,354

3 Claims. 1 r

This invention relates to therapeutic belt structures for the relief andsupport of ,ailing parts of the human body.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide meansfacilitating the construction of a compact, strong and very practicalcombination belt and pad structure, which may be easily andefficaciously applied to human body part or parts.

It is another object of the invention to provide means affordingadjustability of the pad or like part relative to the belt structure,whereby the pad may be slid in lengthwise or-transverse direction of thebelt and also pivotally displaced thereon, whereby the pad may assumevarious positions on the face of the beltto be brought in contact withthe body part under treatment.

It is still another object of the invention to provide means renderingthe possibility of supporting a body part by means of a built-in pad inthe belt structure and to combine the latter with an adjustable anddetachable pad which may be displaced relative to and within theconfines of said built-in pad.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide meanscontributing to a reinforced belt-pad structure having bones or bars, atleast one of which being employable as a rail for guiding a slidethereon, which carries a further reinforced pad structure removablyattached to said slide.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means influencingfrictional engagement of the aforesaid built-in pad structure with saiddetachable pad structure and determining the positions of the latter bylimit or stop means associated with said reinforcing bars.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide means conduciveto a dual-action-belt and pad structure of the aforesaid type, wherebythe belt with built-in pad may be used either along or in conjunctionwith an interchangeable or removable pad structure, selectively.

The above and other objects and features will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevational view showing the inner face of the pad andbelt made in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged and exaggerated sectional view taken along theline 2--2 of Fig. 1 with the pad shown" in Fig. 1 omitted;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through a detachable pad made in accordancewith the invention;

2 Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the pad of Fig. 3. Referring now moreparticularly to the drawin'g, a pad 10 is shown in Fig. 1 fixed to andbuilt-in between the ends I! and I2 of a belt l3, which may be elasticexcept for the built-in pad I0. While the belt ends Ii and l2arepreferably made from elastic web material, the pad 10 has an outer andrather heavy leather surface 14,

while a layer of chamois or similar soft leather material I5 is fixed toand is coextensive'with said leather layer l4.

As'can be visualized from Fig. l, pad 10 has a median portion is whichextends in transverse direction to belt. I3 and therebeyond at oppositesides thereof. The built-in pad Ill is reinforced by suitable bars I7,I8, I9, preferably made from springy steel band or strips and enclosedin pockets Ila, l8a, l9a.

The bar or bone I8 is seated with its opposite ends in end pocketportions lab and We, while the remainder of bar is is exposed, asclearly shown in the lower part of Fig. 1. Due to the creation ofpockets 18b and we, stop or limiting means 20, 2! are obtained forpurpose about to be described. on the exposed median portion of themiddle bar Hi there is slidingly affixed a slide in the form of aleather strip 22 in which is recessed a socket element 2-3 complementaryto snap element 24 which is arranged on detachable pad 25.

As may be visualized from Fig. 1, slide 22 may be moved lengthwise ofbar i8 and be brought, for instance, into the position designated bynumeral 22a, later herein referred to.

Connectible with slide 22 by means of socket 23 and snap button 24 isthe aforesaid elongated pad 25 which has the reinforcing members 26, 21,preferably made from spring steel material. The outer layer 28 ofremovable pad 25 is made of leather, while the inner layer 29 ispreferably also made from a soft or chamois leather layer. Between theselayers 28 and 29 there may extend a filler 30, if desired, in order toincrease the padding action. If attached pad 25 extends with its longeraxis in the direction of bar l8, as shown in full-lines in Fig. 1, itwill be noted that this pad 25 is not fully co-extensive with thetransverse axis of built-in pad [0.

As further shown in Fig. 1, pad 25 may be swung with its longer axisinto position 2511 about pivot 2324, whereby the slide assumesapproximately the position at 22c whereby the outer edge of pad 25coincides approximately with the contour of the built-in pad at 3|, 32,as shown in Fig. 1.

It will be further noted that layers [4 and I5. with or without furtherpadding or filling, are stitched together along stitch-line 33, asindicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

In Fig. 2, the slide 22 together with its bar 18 have been shownsomewhat exaggerated with respect to their position over and relative tothe reinforcing bars or bones I! and I9. It is well understood that thebones or bars l1, l8, and 19 remain substantially in one and the sameplane on pad I!) despite the fact that slide 22 is of extreme thinnessand is carried by bar l8.

The new belt and pad structure, according to the invention, may be usedin the treatment of various ailments, such as sacroiliac and for therelief of pains on the skin, joints, or other parts of the human body.The new device readily facilitates the displacement of the detachablepad 25 lengthwise of bar [8 and in pivotal relation thereto, even if thestructure is worn on the body of a person. It is further apparent thatbuilt-in pad I may also be used without pad 25; and, since the pad 25may be readily detached from pad I9, other suitable andmedicamentcarrying pads of any desirable size and shape may replacedetachable pad 25.

It is to be understood that instead of the pad 25 as hereinabovedisclosed, an air-filled bladder with snap button 24 fixed thereto maybe employed.

It is further to be noted that between layers H and of the built-in padIt an inflatable air cushion or bladder may be inserted in order tofacilitate equalization of differences in height between the slidemember 22 with part 23 of the fastening means and the remainder of thebuiltin pad 10, so that the latter may be used per se and offers aplanar contact surface.

The superposition of pads l0 and 25 leads to the particular advantagethat increased pressure may be had at a location or locations whereparticular pain on the human body prevails.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been described and shown inthe drawing, it should be noted that the invention may be realized inmodified form and adaptations of the arrangement herein disclosed may bemade, as may readily occur to persons skilled in the art, withoutconstituting a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined in the ob jects and in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent, is:

l. A therapeutic device comprising a first pad, at least three springyreinforcing bars accommodated within said first pad and extending spacedfrom and substantially parallel to each other, the median one of saidbars being at least partially exposed without said first pad to therebyprovide a support, a slide member arranged for movement along saidsupport, a second pad arranged on said slide member, and complementaryfastening means on said slide member and on said second pad, whereby thelatter may be moved in unison with said slide member along said supportas well as rotated about said complementary fastening means relative tosaid slide member and said first pad, selectively.

2. A belt structure for therapeutic and like purposes, comprisingelastic web means, a substantially non-elastic pad fixed to said webmeans, said pad including two layers of material, one of said layersbeing made from heavy gauge leather, the other layer being made of softchamois leather, reinforcing means in the form of springy steel stripssandwiched between said layers, and means for retaining said strips inposition between said layers, one of said strips extending at leastpartly without said layers to form a support for a slide.

3. A structure according to claim 2, including a slide carried by saidsupport, and a relatively yieldable supplementary pad connected to saidslide and extending in superposed position on said first-named pad.

ALADAR ELIAS WI'I'I'ENBERG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 619,185 Kellogg Feb. 7, 1899 2,606,551 Piper Aug. 12, 1952FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 522,089 France Mar. 21, 1921

